JANET IWASA

Janet Iwasa, a molecular animator, was one of the many women featured in the article “Meet 12 Badass Scientists… Who Also Happen to be Women.” Iwasa created a colorful, interactive, 3-dimentional animation that illustrates a molecule’s actions. This animation has allowed scientists to visualize their hypotheses and convey complex scientific discoveries to all people. In addition, Iwasa has created the Molecular Flipbook, a software tool that allows researchers to quickly model molecular hypotheses.

“The group of women in this image work on some pretty awe-inspiring science — from understanding the birth of the universe, to finding evidence of cancer in ancient human populations, to preserving animal species that may disappear without our help,” says Iwasa. “My subjects are far too small to see, but through my work I hope to reveal a world within our cells that is chaotic and beautiful, and — hopefully — also awe-inspiring.”